GeneEvo
by CeruleanCat
Summary: This isn't about the characters of Max Ride, but has similar themes (animal DNA transfering). So if you like Maximum Ride, or medical/action/romance, then please R&R :) -CeruleanCat
1. Prologue: Welcome to GeneEvo!

ADVERTISEMENT:

Need that extra cash to get started in life? Have a kid that you can't take care of? _About_ to have a kid that you won't be able to take care of? Don't throw their life away! Give them a bright future at Genetic Evolution, or GeneEvo. At GeneEvo, we give your children harmless tests that give modern science a huge leap forward, and they benefit from it, too! The children lead easy, judgment free lives, regardless of test results, and have anything they wish from within the walls of GeneEvo. They interact with other children, and get an above-average education, especially in science.

Don't leave them to wander around with foster, or no, parents, when they could have a wonderful life and learn to care for our specialized scientists like their own mothers and fathers! You will also receive financial compensation, the amount increasing depending on certain characteristics.

The younger, the better! We prefer to have the child still in the womb, so that the risks, already slight, are lessened. We promise that the mother will not be harmed in any way; not feel the slightest pain. The tests vary, but none will permanently harm your child, in fact, most will make their whole life better.

We accept children ranging from pre-birth to seventeen, and compensation starts at twenty thousand for a seventeen year old, and five thousand more for every year younger. GeneEvo is located on a tropical island where children will live out the rest of their lives, free to test out the benefits from their tests and be, well, kids!

Love your kids enough to let them reach their full potential here at GeneEvo!

The young mother trembled, her shaking hands clutching her slightly bulging pregnant belly. She was in a flimsy white hospital gown, sitting in an examination room, waiting for the doctor to come in. Her baby, too young to tell the gender, would be in better hands here, living an improved life compared to what her own mother could've given it, and the mother would be receiving $120,000 for her own pocket. After the initial testing (they hadn't told her what was going to be done, exactly) she would take a tour of GeneEvo's facility, then reach her room, where she would stay for thee next few months until she gave birth to her baby.

A smiling man in a white lab coat gently pushed the door open, and came in, holding a clipboard with one hand, and a pen with the other. "Danielle?" He asked, still smiling.

Danielle gave a shaky nod in return, drying her hands on the hospital gown. He walked behind the bed and started fiddling with something out of Danielle's vision, "No need to be nervous, Danielle, you and your child won't feel a thing, and you'll both benefit from it, obviously."

He rolled a metal tray to the side of the examination table, and Danielle's eyes widened at all of the various injections he was preparing. The doctor noticed her look, and chuckled, "You won't feel any of them, we're going to put you under, give them to you, then you just rest."

Danielle swallowed nervously, "Won't injecting them into me affect me, too?"

"No, no, and they weren't going into you directly, anyway. We are inserting a thin, IV like tube into the baby itself, then inject the fluids into it from out here. We'll make a small incision on your abdomen, which won't even leave a scar thanks to the advanced healing agents we have access to here." He finished with the tray, and then pressed a buzzer in the wall. "Yes, this is Dr. McNeal; please get a gurney down here for Ms. Danielle. Yes, initial child injections, so I need an anesthesiologist and a scientist, Animalia class. Yes, I've confirmed test types, and we have decided on 'Code: Puma Concolor'. Thank you."

Danielle wracked her mind in puzzlement, trying to figure out what that meant, "So, what are you going to do to him, or her? What kind of tests?"

The doctor just chuckled to himself, ignoring her until the gurney came for her. Danielle was wheeled only for a minute when they reached the room for the injections, the doctor wheeling the tray behind her.

Danielle's eyes widened when she saw it was prepped for an all out surgery, "Isn't this supposed to be a minor surgery?" She said; panic clearly creeping into her voice.

The room had several people in it, all in scrubs, wearing masks. One stepped forward with a pyramid shaped plastic mask that was connected by a long tube to a humming machine; Danielle recognized it as an anesthetic machine. She lay back on the flat metal table, and the cone was pressed onto her face. "It _is_ a minor surgery, right?"

One of the younger nurses looked at her with almost pity, "Danielle, dear, you _are_ seventeen, aren't you?"

Danielle realized then that her baby wasn't the only one who was going to be tested on. She thrashed, falling off the table, then stumbled to her feet and started to run away. She ripped off the mask, and then turned out of room, her bare feet skidding on the floor. She started running as fast as she could. She made it down two halls before she felt a sharp pinch in her upper arm.

Danielle yelped in pain, leaned against the wall, then slid to the floor. She saw three buff men heading toward her, talking in hushed tones, then picked up her limp body and carried her back to the surgery room. As she was laid on the table, she saw the bright green tail of a tranquilizer dart sticking out of her arm. The cone was once again placed on her face, but before she went under completely, she heard snippets of conversation.

"….. remove the baby so we can start her tests…keep it incubated….."

"Memory eradication…." "…..new name….." "….give parents combined money….."

Then she went under, and when she woke up, she was just another face. Another number. Danielle Kinset officially doesn't exist.


	2. Danielle's Testing

The young nurse looked down on the girl she was supposed to be monitoring. She was seventeen, and tricked into coming here by her parents, poor thing. She was on drugs that put her into a comatose state, every detail about her flashing on the wall. On the right side of the recovery room, instead of a normal wall there was a huge monitor. Showing on it were her vital signs, including pulse, oxygen levels, brain waves, along with anything that could help the scientists to understand how her transformation was going. So far, nothing was happening, but that was because they had started her on low doses, after all, she was older. There was a very high risk of experimental failure when they got older, but the girl was doing fine. So far. The girl, and her young child, who was revealed to be a girl, had been started on puma concolor DNA, more commonly known as cougar DNA. The girl was in a simple hospital shirt and pants, a bandage wrapped around her stomach from where they had removed her very young child.

Poor thing had been tricked by her own mother and father. Her parents had 'accidentally' left an advertisement out for GeneEvo, and she had been ecstatic; she had been trying to think a way out of telling her already ruthless parents about her pregnancy, when they had actually figured it out a few weeks prior. She had it all arranged on the phone, but her parents called after and explained how they could get two subjects, and the company would be able to keep half of Danielle's compensation money. So, it was decided; Danielle oblivious to it all.

She was barely moving, except for the rise and fall of her chest, and the occasional twitch from the DNA that was slowly entering her bloodstream. She just lay there, the tube down her throat that kept her breathing moving slightly with every breath. Then, the twitching started to quicken. Within seconds her whole body was convulsing.

The nurse stepped forward calmly, bringing up the restraints from underneath the table, and then tied down her arms, legs, and torso.

Danielle continued to jerk around for only a few more minutes before going still. The nurse cocked her head, recording everything on her clipboard. She held her pen above the paper, waiting, and then Danielle's scream broke the silence. She coughed hard, nearly choking on the tube down her throat; then her panic allowed her to fight off the coma-inducing drugs. Her eyes popped open, pupils dilated, frantically looking back and forth. She threw her weight against the restraints, hysterically trying to break free. The nurse steadily watched the girl, watching her fast-paced heart rate on the monitor.

After a steady minute of lashing out, the nurse finally prepared a sedater, injecting it directly into the girl's arm. Danielle slowly stilled, and finally was subdued enough to go back under the influence of the comatose agents. The nurse, satisfied, began to examine her for any changes, and a thin smile stretched across her face. When examining Danielle's hand, she noticed that on the tips of her fingers, small protrusions were pushing up under the skin. With a groan of pain from Danielle, the skin broke, and there, even though they were covered in a thin layer of blood, they were unmistakable. Claws.

**Danielle's POV while in the induced coma:**

The world is hazy. All I remember is the mask coming down, then nothing. Now I'm waiting in the dark. Literally. All I see is a wall of blurry darkness. No. Now there's something else. Pain. It burns. My whole body burns. It's like needles are piercing every pore in my body, then drawing something back out. My face stings bad. My nose feels like someone hit it. Hard. Make it stop. My ears feel like they're being pulled farther and farther away from my head. My fingertips feel like someone stabbed each one with a knife. An old, blunt, knife. My toes, too. My body won't stop hurting. Who did this to me? Why? What did I do? Help. Help. Make it stop. Please. I want to die. Let. Me. Die. Now my tailbone hurts. Like something is extending from it. It won't stop.

My whole body aches. Like I ran. A lot. I don't like it. Mommy? Daddy? I need help. Tell them to stop. I try to scream. To kick. To hit. I can't. My teeth. Now they hurt. Like a dentist tried to pull them out, then decided not to. They hurt. . . . . Now nothing. It stopped. Maybe it was a nightmare. Maybe. Maybe. Maybe. . . It wasn't. Now I don't know my name. D, it started with D. Did it? I don't know. I forget. I don't want to. Please. It's back. Make. It. Stop. It's. Like. I'm. On. Fire. Dear. Lord. Help?

**AN: Sorry it's so short! And I took forever to update, I know, I'm a horrible person... Thanks to the people who have reviewed and favorited, it means so much! Please review if you want me to keep it up. I honestly don't care what you write as long as I know someone's reading this. I might just add on to this chapter instead of making a bunch of small ones... Sorry, I'm writing this as I go :) R&R -Cat**


	3. Ember, Alan, and Lili

They came for me on June 14th, the day before my birthday. After I had been adopted. All for what? Money. Money, money, money. I'm Ember, Orphan of the Desert, Child of the Greedy, and She who was abandoned to Science. That's my title that I've made for myself over the past few days. Before I tell you how I came to GeneEvo, you need to know about where I come from: An orphanage in the corner of Texas.

** Two months before going to GeneEvo:** I woke up early to go to the showers; after all, God knows all of the younger kids hog up the hot water. Determined little buggers. I know three little ones who get up at 4:30 to get good water, leaving us older ones to get hypothermia. I'm fourteen, and have been living here for thirteen years, having been abandoned here as a baby. Now, I am one of the oldest kids here, and have almost no hope of being adopted. After all, I'm a teenager, so I must be rebellious, untrustworthy, and a handful, right? Why put up with me when you could have a precious, young, impressionable, little kid? So, it's hopeless for me. Until one person came, offering to adopt as many kids as possible. Too good to be true, right? Right.

It was the third Saturday of the month, the day when the orphanage is open to anyone to interview the children. It's usually a happy day, the younger kids cheerful, for once, running around the beds, talking about how they'd wear their nice outfits, the girls would do each others hair, and the boys would try to look professional or 'Po-fesh-in-oul' as they said it.

After my shower, I dressed in my good jeans and a not-so-worn shirt, trying to look nice. I sat down on my bed, and two of the newer kids came up to me. They were adorable, to put it in one word. They were twins, Lili and Alan, that were five years old, with light brown hair and mellow green eyes. They would have a home in a week. I was in a good mood, so I let Lili do my hair, which turned out pretty good. My hair naturally fell just to the bottom of my shoulder blades, and was a shade of scarlet that resembled a burning ember, hence my name. She tied it into a loose pony tail, actually coaxing some of the frizz out of it, while Alan talked. And talked. And talked. "I look all pwofeshinal, don't I?" he said with a toothy grin.

"Yeah, you do," I laughed, looking at him. He had on an oversized pair of jeans, tied with an inch thick brown belt, and a blue plaid shirt that was only tucked-in in the front. If it were on anyone but a funny little five year old it would look cheap, but if I had parents, I would beg them to adopt him. Lili was in a ruffled sky blue skirt, with slightly scuffed up black dress shoes, and an only somewhat stained white blouse. After Lili did my hair, I tucked in the back of Alan's shirt and we went our separate ways, standing in front of our beds. There were two large rooms filled with small beds, one for boys and one for girls. I quickly trotted over to Lili's bed, where she was struggling to make it look neat. Lili had been living in a home for her whole life, until she and Alan had come here a week ago after her parent's death. She hadn't made a bed in her life.

I quickly did it for her, years of experience making my hands nimble. She thanked me quickly, but by then the 'warden' as we called her had entered the room. She saw me immediately, but only because she doesn't like me. Huh, wonder why?

"Ember!" She yelled, looking at me with arms crossed.

I looked around and behind me, pretending not to know who she was talking about, then raised my eyebrows at her, pointed at myself, and mouthed, 'Me?' earning suppressed giggles from the other girls.

A glare from the warden shut them up, but when I started wiggling my eyebrows, they all wore thin smiles. "You little ingrate! You will never be adopted, even though God knows even if you did have parents, they would have cast you out long ago! We shelter you here, and you don't even try to set a good example!"

Anyway, she ranted on for a few more minutes before composing herself, "Anyway, everyone, you know protocol, stand in front of your bed and be polite, do not beg to be adopted, and they will speak to me if they wish to adopt you." She shot me one last glare, and then turned on her heel. The second she wasn't looking, I jumped on my bed and started dancing and swinging my hips. The girls' laughter gave it away, but when she turned back around, I was standing there calmly, hands together. "Yes?" I asked sweetly, cocking my head.

"Get. Down." She said through gritted teeth. I hopped off my bed, and when she turned around again, I started dancing not because I was like that, but because it annoyed her. She kept walking at first, so I started wobbling and swinging my hips, and jumping back on my bed. She was still ignoring me, so I used my last and best option. Singing. Mainly because of the song choice. I started belting out 'Timber', and if you've seen the music video, you get an idea of how I was dancing.

She slowly turned around, and then said through clenched teeth, "Stop. It."

"'K, then." I said, and after a moment of pause I started singing and dancing to 'Gentleman', by Psy. She let out a frustrated scream, and by now, several parents, one who had their natural children with them, and one was a teenage boy a few years older than I am. She started walking quickly towarsds me, so I temporarily stopped, just to start leaping from bed to bed. So, with all the girls cheering me on, I leapt from bed to bed, starting 'Timber' back up. Every few beds I'd do a few quick dance moves that would've gotten me in trouble if I had parents. I noticed even the parents were smirking now, so I decided to wink at the guy. What the heck? After this stunt, the police would probably be finding my body in a ditch, might as well have some fun.

The warden finally moved all of the other girls to the guys' room, and ushered all of the hopeful parents into there. She quickly shut the door behind me, and I heard the lock click into place. I stopped my singing, which was pretty good, if I do say myself, and hopped from bed to bed until I got to the door. I put my ear against the door, but I couldn't make out anything from the guys' room. So I sat against the door, humming to 'Timber', which I now had stuck in my head. Great. I was sitting there for ten minutes before some of the conversation became clearer, and I realized the warden and someone else were talking maybe a few feet away from the door. Even focusing, I was only able to catch snippets of conversation, ". . . Are you sure? . . Troublemaker . . ." ". . . won't matter . . . she's going. . ."

I got bored relatively soon, so I started to walk around the room in circles, knowing that this event typically goes on for three hours. I had only been walking for about ten more minutes when the door unlocked, revealing the warden standing there, a thin smile on her face, "Miraculously, someone wants to take you off my hands."

I exploded with hope on the inside, but managed to keep a straight face, "So, what I'm hearing is I'm being adopted."

"Technically, but-" She began

"Nope, I want to here you say it. Say it. 'Ember, you're being adopted.'" I pressed.

"Ember, I am not going to say-"

"Uh-uh, say it." I planted my feet and crossed my arms.

"Ugh, Ember . . . you'rebeingadopted." She said, glaring at me.

"Great, when do I leave? This place smells. . . Now that I think about it, it wasn't so bad when you left the room. . ." She pushed me towards the hall, causing me to stumble through the doorway and land on my knees. "Child abuse!" I yelled at her before standing back up. I brushed myself off, just for effect though, not like I was really hurt.

"This couple is adopting you along with two others; they wanted to adopt as many children as possible, but we limited it to three." She said, as if trying to ignore me until I was out of her life for good.

I looked to where she was facing, and saw a man and a woman who didn't look like parents at all. The woman was in a black turtleneck with dark blue jeans, and was very willowy. She had a cold smile, and dark brown hair that fell evenly just above her shoulders. The man had a black leather jacket and scruffy denim jeans. He had on sunglasses even though we were inside, and a nose so hooked his new name in my head is The Russian. I didn't like them very much. Thank God, because if I had liked them, I would've been heartbroken at what they did to me. Well, us.

After the Russian saw me, he nodded, and then beckoned to the warden so they could go sign the papers. After the Russian and Spy Lady (the woman who I'm supposed to call 'mom'), closed the door behind them, I looked around for the other two kids they were adopting. Lili and Alan were standing down the hall, playing some hand clapping game that they kept making faster. Alan stopped when he saw me, and ran over, "Oh my gawsh, Em, guess what? We're adopted! Someones adopteding us!"

"Really? Where are they? Are they nice?"

He paused, thinking about it for a second, "Hm, I don't know yet. They went in there with the lady who yelled's a lot to you."

I don't know how I looked then, but I'm pretty certain I looked like a grinning idiot. "I was adopted by them, too! You're my new little brother!" So, there we were, freaking out in the hallway for a good five minutes before our 'parents' came out.

We were so excited we didn't ask any questions for the first thirty minutes of the car ride. In the next fifteen minutes, though, all three of us were getting antsy. By the time we had been there for an hour, I mustered enough nerve to ask a question. "Uh, where are we going exactly?" I said, clearing my throat, "I mean, uh, you kinda adopted us, but haven't spoken to us since we got in the car…"

The Russian, who was driving turned around briefly, just to tell us (in a heavy Russian accent, mind you, ten points to me!), "Just vut up, brat. You'll ve someone velse's problem in a matter of vinutes."

I leaned back into my seat, pulling Lili and Alan closer to me. I didn't dare to speak to the adults again, but I did murmur reassurances to the little ones, who were starting to whimper.

Sure enough, we arrived at an airport in a matter of minutes. Spy Lady (no way was I EVER going to call these people 'mom' and 'dad') opened up the backseat and roughly pulled out Alan, who hit the asphalt and started to cry. I lost it. Now, I can't fight professionally, but the magic of a few good punches is really amazing.

"Enough of this BS." I said, getting out of the car and standing in front of her. So, using all of my adrenaline from seeing Alan hurt, I left her with a few good bruises. I swung my fists, managing to hit hurt in the face before she had time to figure out what was going on, then did a roundhouse kick that would've gotten me applauded at the orphanage. I got a really good kick in her ribs, which knocked the breath out of her, then continued to hit anywhere I could before the Russian restrained my arms, then shoved me, facedown, against the ground. Luckily, I turned my head in time so only the side of my face was impacted.

He let me up, shooting me a glare that said 'Do that again and it'll be worse'. I huddled with Lili and Alan on the ground, holding them tight against me. Lili was sobbing now, saying over and over, "I wanna go home, Em. I wanna go home." The Russian pulled out a cell phone, and started talking fast, his accent so thick I couldn't understand it. I took the time to look around and see if there was any chance Lili and Alan could get away.

He had parked in the back parking lot, so no one had seen our scuffle. Then I thought of it. The planes. They were so loud overhead, maybe the little ones could go when one took off, and make it inside. I would have to escape later, but I could use the car to my advantage, and meet them inside at a later time. . . Looking back, it wasn't very thought through, but it's not like I can change what happened. . .

I quickly whispered the shabby plan to Lili and Alan, who looked upset but determined for five year olds. So, when the next one took off, they ran for it. They were almost to the building when I noticed something: The Russian and Spy Lady were watching them. Which meant it was okay, that it wouldn't affect anything. They were running past a particularly shadowy area, where anything could be hiding… I screamed, too late though, because the sharp bangs, two, already came. It wasn't a regular gun though: It was a tranquilizer gun. They collapsed on the pavement, bright green tails from the tranquilizer darts sticking out from their arms. Someone stepped from the shadows, quickly dragging them back into it.

**AN: You know the drill: blah blah review, blah blah if you want me to keep updating, blah blah blah... :) Seriously though, thanks for reading! There are people on here reading from the US, Australia, Canada, and China :)**


	4. Cat-boy

I turned in horror to the two adults, and then started sprinting to the other end of the parking lot, where I could take shelter behind other cars. I can't run long distances, but quick sprinting is easier. I was panting when I reached the more populated end of the parking lot. I hadn't been more scared in my whole life. I tripped, a few feet away from a car, and franticly crawled behind it. My mind was screaming at me to move, but I couldn't. I was hyperventilating now. What do they want with me? Why Lili and Alan? I felt hot tears welling up behind my eyes, but instead of holding them in, I let myself cry. I was sobbing now, but knew I had to move.

I saw a blue car a few yards away, but it was diagonal from me, which meant running across open ground. I took the chance, and after crouching behind the blue car, I listened for the tell-tale bang of the tranquilizer gun, but it didn't come. I held my breath, listening for footsteps, but what I heard was worse. Someone else's breathing. I turned my head up slowly, not wanting to see whoever was up there. I looked on top of the car, and saw a guy who looked maybe a few years older than me. The sun was behind him, so all I could see was a silhouette, but when he jumped down, I really, really, wish he had stayed up there, where I couldn't see him. He had whiskers sprouting on his upper lip; not like a mustache, I mean freaking cat whiskers that were ten inches long; he didn't have human ears, but cat ears that twitched every few seconds; he crouched like a, go ahead, guess, a _freaking cat;_ and, to top it all off, he had a tail. Yes, a tail that was swishing back and forth. I scooted back, whimpering. Not my best moment.

He, sure enough, had the tranquilizer gun strapped to his back. He pulled it over his shoulder slowly, either relishing the moment or trying not to scare me, and made sure that I saw he had it. So, there I was, in all my glory, scooting backwards away from a cat guy who had a tranquilizer gun. He cocked his head, looking at me, and then spoke, and I was _very_ surprised he didn't hiss or meow or something, "So, are you going to come willingly, or try to run, which, if you haven't figured it out, will get you put under?" He smirked, acting like he had the advantage. Well, he did.

I started crying and hyperventilating, still backing away, even though I was going to be in the open soon. I'm pretty sure I didn't look good: I had my hair stuck to my face with tears, my bottom lip was trembling, and my arms kept giving out when I tried to back away. I was fruitlessly trying to use my legs to back up, but it didn't help much. He looked at me with pity, then reached forward, grabbed my arm, and pulled me to my feet. It didn't work very well. I pretty much screamed when he touched my arm because I could feel his claws against my skin, even though they didn't hurt. Then, to top it off, my legs gave out; not because I told them to, but because I was probably going to go into hysterics any second. My whole body was trembling, but he still persisted to get me to my feet. He tried to get me to step forward, but I screamed, this time on purpose. I started to thrash around he finally tightened his grip, making me stand still.

"Calm down, we aren't going to hurt you." He said slowly, trying to get me to still.

I finally give up. My adrenaline gives out, and I fall limp to the ground. He bends down, and picks me up. He carries me bride-style back to where Russian and Spy Lady are. The Russian shot me a glare, saying with venom, "When do we get the money for this piece of crap?"

"You'll get it once we get back with them." Cat-boy said without emotion.

"Fine. The faster you're out of here, the faster you get back, the faster we get our money." The Russian glared at me one last time, pulled his jacket on tighter, and then turned around abruptly and got in the car. I was trembling, fighting to stay conscious and not loose my breakfast. He stood there, waiting until the car was out of sight, and then carried me back to the shadowy part of the building. I'm going to admit it, in case there is any confusion; I was officially in hysterics. We were close enough to the area where Lili and Alan had disappeared, and I was able to see them. The two little ones were lying peacefully on the pavement, their breaths shallow. I screamed, and then started clawing at cat-boy until he was forced to drop me onto the pavement. He started cussing, rubbing his scratch marks. I crawled forward on my hands and knees until I reached them. Lili looked so peaceful, her light hair tousled across her face, her tiny hands clutching her skirt. Alan's shirt was completely un-tucked; the bottoms of his jeans dirty from when he hit the pavement. I shook them, desperately trying to wake them up, but the tranquilizers were strong. I turned around to face cat-boy; "What did you do to them?" I said, utter horror in my tone.

I tried to pick up Lili, but my arms were still shaking, and I couldn't support her. It was hopeless. I didn't want to deal with it. Then it came to me. Maybe, the tranquilizers still had some of the drugs in them. I pulled it gently out of Lili's arm, and turned to face the cat person. He backed up, putting up his hands, "Calm down. I _really_ don't feel like carrying you to the car to, so put it down so I don't have to drug you."

I looked at the dart, so small in my shaking hand. Silly boy. He thought I was going to use it on him. Living at the orphanage had taught me that, sometimes, it was better to not get captured alive. This conversation passed between the older kids, 'Would you rather live on the streets and have who-knows-what happen to you, or die by your own hand?' The answers were always the same. Even though we came from an orphanage, funny enough, we didn't value life very much, after seeing how often it was wasted, unwanted, or given away. I poked my self quickly in the vein, trying just to numb myself, and then started hacking away at my wrists with the needle. It wasn't working, so I furiously started to poke the vein, trying to end myself. Then, I started using teeth, fingernails, even jagged rocks on the ground. The cat-boy looked at me in shock, and then quickly shot the tranquilizer into me. I still hacked away until he shot a second into me, then a third. I went out the second the third pierced my skin. If I was lucky, I'd never wake up.

**Meet Gabriel: DNA of Felis Catus, or the Domesticated Cat**

I darted forward, skidding to a stop in front of the girl I finally had to tranq. Falling to my knees, I hastily pulled out the three tranquilizer darts. That big of a dose would leave her unconscious for a while; hopefully it wouldn't damage her, or I'd have hell to pay. GeneEvo was making me do this, after all, I was a successful experiment, and of course the scientists enjoyed toying with me. I had been given the DNA of the common domesticated cat, giving me physical advantages and the ability to keep a level head. I was given up a few years ago, at thirteen, and had been tested on since then. I didn't want to bring that upon these three; they didn't deserve it. No one deserves it. There was a scientist waiting in a parked car across the parking lot, waiting for me to bring back the three new victims.

I felt horrible. Honestly. And it doesn't help that when you try to set them at ease, they go hysterical on you, or try to run, but if I didn't get them, let them run away, they'd catch us anyway, and punish us. Meaning they give us cruel, unnecessary, tests. I had very little info about what would happen to these three, except the DNA they would be forcefully given. The oldest one would be given some anonymous bird DNA, the little girl mourning dove DNA, and the little boy chameleon. I gently picked up the older girl, draping her across both of my arms. I examined her wrist, where she had broken the skin in a few areas. Not enough to cut the vein, but it was too close. I still was having after images of when she had tried to crawl away from me, the shear terror in her eyes… No, having pity won't help her now. I could come back for the little ones in a minute.

I quietly padded back over to where the scientist's car was, knocking on the window to get her attention. She got out of her car, yes, her personal car, that was hooked up to a trailer. She had an indigo truck, connected to GeneEvo's trailer. She walked around to the trailer, and unlocked it by hand, because, surprise surprise, you can't trust a mutant. The trailer was nice inside, except that it was all white and smelled of anti-septic. There were several beds in it, and they all had restraints that could come up from underneath. I walked over to the nearest one, placing her unconscious form on the mattress gently. Even though she had enough sedatives in her to knock her out for the whole trip, I brought up the restraints and gently tied down her arms and legs, that way if there was a sharp turn she wouldn't fall off. I doubled over suddenly, memories of the way I came surfacing. . . _I screamed, kicking at the two buff guys who were dragging me, unwillingly, to the looming trailer. A woman in a white lab-coat just stood there, watching me and scribbling something on a clipboard. I called out hoarsely to her, begging her for help, but she just watched. I tried to dig in my toes, but the asphalt didn't help. What-so-ever. My parents stood in the distance, watching solemnly as I was dragged away. I screamed again, biting at the rough hands holding me, kicking at their legs. When we reached the entrance to the trailer, they pushed me violently against the doorframe, trying to force me to go through._

_ The scientist warned them, in a mellow voice, "Don't harm him, or it's coming out of your paychecks."_

_ I was almost through, and knew I would probably never see my 'parents' again. They didn't deserve that title. I called back to them, the hurt and angst in my voice clear, "I hope you are happy! You two, Grace and Kenneth, don't deserve the title of parents." I heard my mother break down crying, and my father's reassuring tones as he tried to calm her. They finally forced me through the door, and I stumbled out of their grip, landing on the tile. What trailer has tile? What trailer is all white, with beds with restraints? I'll tell you what type. One used for experiments. I turned to the doorway, trying to run, but the two guards grabbed my arms, and dragged me backwards, forcing me onto one of the beds. They tied the restraints on my arms and legs, and I hopelessly thrashed against them. The last I saw before they slipped a syringe full of sedatives into me was my parents, still standing by their car._

I came up gasping, leaning against the girl's bed. I righted myself shakily, half walking half stumbling to the doorway, going to retrieve the twins. I leaned against the outside of the trailer, trying to convince myself that that was then, and this is now. Things have changed. To convince myself this, I let my claws slide out. They were extensions that came out, for me, at the base of my fingernails, and slid over them. It used to be painful, but now it's just uncomfortable. Those flashbacks are getting less frequent, but they still come now and then. Not wanting to be in this cursed parking lot any longer, I sprinted over to the shadowy wall, tenderly picked up the two young ones, and darted back. I hastily put them in their own beds, did the restraints, and went over to the scientist, my face stony.

"Their in. Now can we leave?" I asked through gritted teeth.

"Yes, but stay there with them. . . The little ones don't have enough sedative in them to stay out the whole ride; maybe you can explain their _situation_ to them. . ."

I huffed, and then turned back into the trailer, slamming the door as I went. I sat down on one of the remaining beds, putting my head in my hands. _Poor guys_, I thought because no one had given me any sympathy when I came, and since I couldn't change what was going to happen, I could at least try to make it easier.

**AN: Tada! Please keep reviewing... Scratch that, I'm just happy if someone reads it...**


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